Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Buckingham St; 24hr)
Arrowtown has NZ's best example of a gold-era Chinese
settlement. Interpretive signs explain the lives of Chinese diggers during and after the
gold rush (the last resident died in 1932), while restored huts and shops make the story
more tangible. Subjected to significant racism, the Chinese often had little choice but to
rework old tailings rather than seek new claims.
Lake District Museum & Gallery
MUSEUM
(
www.museumqueenstown.com
;
49 Buckingham St; adult/child $8/2; 8.30am-5pm)
Exhibits
cover the gold-rush era and the early days of Chinese settlement around Arrowtown.
Younger travellers will enjoy the Museum Fun Pack ($5), which includes activity sheets,
museum treasure hunts, greenstone and a few flecks of gold. You can also rent pans here
to try your luck panning for gold on the Arrow River ($5); you're more likely to find
some traces if you head away from the town centre.
St Patrick's Catholic Church
CHURCH
(
www.stjosephsqueenstown.co.nz
; 7 Hertford St)
Apart from the impressive Star of
David-shaped rose window, this 1874 stone church wouldn't be worth noting if it wer-
en't for its connection to Australia's only Catholic saint. Acclaimed educator St Mary of
the Cross, aka Mary McKillop (1842-1909), founded a
convent
in the tiny 1870s miners
cottage next door. There are interesting displays on the saint in the church and in the re-
stored cottage. Try the doors; they're often unlocked.
Activities
The information centre stocks a
Cycling & Walking Trail
brochure ($1) outlining some
excellent tracks in the area. One particularly good new cycling route is the
Arrow River
Bridges Track
(12km) from Arrowtown to the Kawarau Bridge, which traverses various
new suspension bridges and a tunnel cut under the highway.
Arrowtown Bike Hire
MOUNTAIN BIKING
( 0800 224 473;
www.arrowtownbikehire.co.nz
;
59 Buckingham St; half-/full-day rental $35/49)
Get active on two wheels on the many new mountain-biking trails around Arrowtown, or
join a Mountain Bike Mania tour ($199, October to April) combining 4WD and
